High court to rule on citizens' suit against Rokkasho uranium plant

The Sendai High Court will hand down a ruling Tuesday on a suit citizens filed in 1989 seeking a revocation of government approval for a uranium enrichment plant in Rokkasho, Aomori Prefecture.

 

In March 2003, the Aomori District Court dismissed the suit, filed by more than 170 citizens from various parts of the country, saying the government's safety check was appropriate.

Presiding Judge Tsutomu Yamazaki dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that the uranium plant should not have been approved because the facility could be vulnerable to massive earthquakes, plane crashes and major nuclear accidents.

Yamazaki said the government's safety examination had been "legitimate" and "flawless."

The court also found that 157 of the 171 plaintiffs do not qualify for plaintiff status because they do not live close enough to the facility. Only 14 residents of Rokkasho and the neighboring town of Yokohama were accepted as plaintiffs.

Seventy-seven citizens later appealed the district court ruling to the high Court.

During high court trials, the plaintiffs claimed that it is unreasonable that the district court judged the government's safety check as appropriate while acknowledging the possibility of earthquakes with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 or more striking the nuclear plant, which was designed to withstand temblors of up to intensity-5.

The government countered the argument, saying its safety check was appropriate and that the district court's ruling is reasonable.

The central government gave the green light for Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. to launch the plant's operations in 1988, and more than 170 plaintiffs filed the suit the next year.

The plant, the first in Japan to commercially produce enriched uranium as fuel for nuclear power generation, started operations in 1992.

During lower court trials, the plaintiffs claimed the state did not use the latest quake data when it performed a safety review on the facility in advance. They also said the plant's earthquake-resistant design is inadequate because it is the same as that of ordinary buildings.

They argued that there is a high possibility of an airplane crash since the facility is located near Misawa air base used by the U.S. Air Force and Japan's Air Self-Defense Force.

The central government countered the plaintiffs' argument, saying it used the latest quake data and that the quake-proof design of the facility did not need to be the same as that of nuclear power plants because the potential danger for the facility, which is not equipped with a nuclear reactor, is smaller.

The state also said a plane crash is unlikely to occur because military drills take place far away from the facility and planes are generally banned from flying over the plant.

The citizens have also filed similar suits that seek to revoke the state approval for the operations of three other nuclear facilities in Rokkasho. The Aomori District Court has yet to hand down rulings in those suits.